Maryland Community Health Resources Commission Announces $7 Million in Grant Funding to Advance Health Equity and Support Services for Vulnerable Marylanders Statewide

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Across Maryland, thousands of families face barriers to health that extend far beyond the walls of a doctor’s office, from limited transportation and food insecurity to gaps in access to primary care. Today, the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission announced that $7 million in grant funding will be made available to help communities address these challenges and expand access to care for vulnerable residents across the state.

The funds will be distributed through the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission’s Fiscal Year 2026 Request for Applications (RFA).

“For too long, the zip code someone grows up in has shaped the opportunities they have to live a healthy life. Today we are choosing a different path,” said Governor Wes Moore. “By partnering with the organizations closest to the people they serve, we are building a Maryland where health, opportunity, and dignity are not privileges for some, but a foundation for everyone.”

The Fiscal Year 2026 Request for Applications will support six types of programs:

• Hospital community partnerships

• Support for medically vulnerable populations including older adults and individuals with disabilities

• Chronic disease prevention and management

• Maternal and child health

• Dental health

• Behavioral health for adults, including mental health and substance use disorder services

  
  

The funding opportunity is open to eligible Community Health Resources. Applicants should consult the RFA for eligibility requirements. Letters of intent will be due March 30. Full proposals will be due April 23, and awards are expected to be announced in June.

“This Request for Applications is an invitation to the people and organizations who know their communities best,” said Destiny-Simone Ramjohn, PhD, Chair of the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission. “Across Maryland there are leaders showing up every day to make sure their neighbors can reach a doctor, find healthy food, get to work, and raise their children in safe and thriving communities. Our role is to stand with them. Through this investment we are supporting solutions that treat the whole person and strengthen the foundations of health so that every Maryland family has the opportunity not just to survive, but to truly flourish.”

The RFA is designed to accelerate two key priorities of the Moore Miller administration: the ENOUGH Act and the AHEAD Model.

The Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households (ENOUGH) Act is Governor Moore’s initiative to address concentrated, generational child poverty in targeted low income neighborhoods across the state. Applicants seeking to serve ENOUGH eligible communities will receive additional consideration during the proposal review process.

The Achieving Healthcare Efficiency through Accountable Design (AHEAD) Model is a statewide total cost of care model implemented by the Health Services Cost Review Commission. The model supports state and regional health care transformation and multi payer alignment with the goal of improving the health of Maryland residents while reducing costs. Applicants are encouraged to present proposals that will measurably reduce avoidable hospital utilization.

• The Request for Applications can be accessed on the CHRC website: https://health.maryland.gov/mchrc/Pages/notices.aspx

• Frequently Asked Questions call for potential applicants will be held on March 19 at 10:00 AM.

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Since its inception in 2005, the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission has awarded 985 grants totaling $396 million, supporting programs in every jurisdiction of the state. These initiatives have collectively served more than 912,000 Marylanders. CHRC grantees have leveraged more than $59 million in additional federal, private, and local funding, and approximately 75 percent of programs have been sustained for at least one year beyond the initial grant period.

The CHRC also administers the Health Equity Resource Communities (HERC) initiative and the Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports grant programs.

To contact the CHRC, email mdh.chrc@maryland.gov or call 410-260-6086.